Get your copy You can buy a copy of Froggy Phevoli’s book, Side Effect, on Amazon at amazon.com/Side-Effect-Froggy-Phevoli/dp/B0DJVJBPD1. Zack Connor can read minds, but the 16-year-old’s superpower comes with a downside. Whenever he reaches into someone’s thoughts, his own thoughts are revealed. He doesn’t know where his power comes from, and his overbearing mother, Carol, […]
Local author Froggy Phevoli writes Side Effect, a young adult sci-fi story
Posted inNews
Political Watch: January 9, 2025
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) was sworn into his fifth term in Congress representing the 24th District on Jan. 3. “As someone who grew up, got his first job and a great education, and started a family on the Central Coast, I am deeply grateful to continue working on its behalf in Congress,” […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Air Force veteran now serves the local community through homemade sourdough
Bread and butter To see Urban Homesteadings’ offerings and place an order, visit urbanhomesteadings.com. For more updates and information, go to @urban_homesteading_with_cait on Instagram. For Urban Homesteadings owner Cait Casey, one of the greatest gifts of sourdough-making is that it can’t be rushed. In fact, from start to finish, one of her homemade loaves takes […]
Posted inNews
County streamlines small cellphone tower permitting to align with federal rules
Fire risks and property values are two reasons to hold off on streamlining the permitting process for small wireless telecommunication facilities in Santa Barbara County, according to Lesley Weinstock. The physician’s assistant spoke during the Jan. 7 county Board of Supervisors meeting alongside a handful of other Safe Technology for Santa Barbara members who questioned […]
Posted inNews
Solvang enacts new objective design standards as part of zoning ordinance
New zoning rules were among Solvang’s first enacted policies of 2025. The multi-layered ordinance includes a revised application route—in effect as of Jan. 8—with clear objective standards for developers to draw from that weren’t previously codified. Staff designed the new policy to provide project applicants with a strong starting point and allow proposals to bypass […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
BINGEABLE: The Sticky
The Sticky What’s it rated? Unrated When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Amazon Prime The incomparable Margo Martindale stars as Ruth Landry, a sugar maker who’s being pushed to her limit by Leonard Sr. (Guy Nadon) of the Syrup Federation. While this series is based on the true story of a $18 million maple syrup heist, […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
NEW FLICKS: It’s What’s Inside
It’s What’s Inside What’s it rated? R When? 2024 Where’s it showing? Netflix Writer-director Greg Jardin helms this sci-fi black comedy about old college friends with complicated histories who get together at a pre-wedding party that devolves into a nightmare when one guest, Forbes (David Thompson), shows up with a suitcase containing an experimental device […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Lifelong Santa Maria resident advocates for community needs through volunteering
Fueled by deep passion rather than deep pockets, lifelong Santa Maria resident Sara Macdonald has devoted countless hours to volunteering and advocating for her local community. Macdonald currently serves in several volunteer roles, including president of the Democratic Club of Santa Maria Valley, Central Coast regional representative for the California Poor People’s Campaign, and vice […]
Posted inOpinion
We prefer to be entertained rather than learn from history
The movie Gladiator II entertains hugely. However, it does not educate people about how vengeance came to be the ruling principle of civic and international life in ancient Rome. That rogue philosophy resulted from the drying up of Rome’s system of civics education and from the unregulated accumulation of money and power. Yes, characters in […]
Posted inOpinion
Folk music shaped an important time in history
I recently saw Don’t Look Back at the Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo and felt like I had time traveled to my youth. While a college student at Columbia University, I hung out in Greenwich Village at coffee houses, jazz and folk music clubs, and at bars where Dylan Thomas, the Welsh poet, was […]
Posted inOpinion
Emergency services chaplains provide essential ‘whole person’ help
Every day, as part of their daily duties, first responders encounter serious trauma, life-threatening medical emergencies, and fires that displace or injure families. When they arrive, they may appear calm and disassociated with the chaos surrounding the event. They really aren’t—they are trained early in their careers to take a deep breath, assess the situation, […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
The Dana Adobe needs volunteers to help preserve the history of the 130-acre property
Walk through history Learn more and apply to volunteer at the historic Dana Adobe in Nipomo at danaadobe.org/volunteer. The adobe is located at 671 S. Oakglen Ave. The Dana Adobe, a 187-year-old ranch that was once home to Capt. William Dana, is one of the oldest standing buildings on the Central Coast, and its history […]